


To Save a Stranger

by orangina



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Late Night Writing, M/M, Subways, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 20:40:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3664215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangina/pseuds/orangina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Located on the walls at the ends of all the platforms is a red sign with a phone number.</p><p>
  <b>Warning: Potential triggers</b>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Save a Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't sleep so I whipped this up instead and I have no idea how it turned out. Please forgive the countless mistakes, it's past midnight and I have to be up in 4 hours.

Mats always walks all the way to the end of the platform when he’s waiting for the subway because people tend to congregate in the middle where the escalators let off. Located on the walls at the ends of all the platforms is a red sign with a phone number. Since he takes the subway both to and from work five days a week, he doesn’t really put much thought into them. He knows that the thing those signs are trying to prevent has happened before and that’s the whole reason why they’re there. But it’s not anything he’ll ever have to deal with. So he goes about his routine each day, disregarding the signs but at the same time, somewhere in the way back of his mind, he’s thankful for their presence because maybe they’ve done their job properly.

One day, however, Mats has to put a little more thought into the signs than usual.

He’s just descended the escalator and been spit out at the bottom amidst tourists, families, and other people like himself who work in the city and just want to get home. He absentmindedly begins his trek to the far end of the platform to give himself a little more space and possibly a seat when he gets on the train. Once he finds himself at the end, he automatically digs his phone out of his suit pocket to pass the time…

But he can’t focus for some reason. Something feels off.

He looks up to evaluate his surroundings and discovers something unusual. He’s alone with only one other man. Usually there are at least a handful of other people who make the effort to travel all the way to the end of the platform, but for some reason they seem to be avoiding the area today. And why?

Because of the other man. Something is off about him. Something is wrong.

Mats studies him for a moment. He’s easily a good looking man and can’t be too much older than Mats is. But that’s not what catches Mats’ eye. Instead, Mats is focused on how he’s pacing compulsively back and forth over a short distance, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head bowed, waiting for the train to come.

Mats gets the feeling that the man is waiting for the train but doesn’t plan on getting on it.

He glances at the screen with the announcements of arrival times. Two minutes until the train comes. He has two minutes to make a choice and do something about this. If he doesn’t do anything, he’ll remember it for the rest of his life.

“Hey.”

The stranger doesn’t look up, but he does stop pacing around.

Mats gulps and slips his phone back into his jacket. He doesn’t need any distractions right now. He straightens up his back and approaches the man. Now that he’s closer, he can see the man’s mouth knotted into a painful expression and a flash of panic behind his eyes.

That might be a good sign. He’s not happy, he’s clearly not feeling any sort of bliss or freedom about what is about to happen to him. Maybe he hasn’t made up his mind quite yet.

“You good?”

The stranger still doesn’t answer but he locks eyes with Mats now. Is that relief Mats sees?

Mats opens his mouth, and he doesn’t know where the words formulated but they come out anyway: “Hey man, don’t do anything stupid, alright? I can tell you don’t really want to do it. Call that number, that’s what it’s for. It’s for people like you who haven’t made a decision yet.”

The train is coming, they can both hear it now. Mats feels his mouth drying up.

_What’s going to happen? Should he stay behind with the man? Will he be a danger to himself if Mats just lets him be?_

“Thank you,” the stranger says, so quietly that Mats almost misses it.

“Life won’t get better on its own, but you can make it better. I promise.”

The man’s eyes are darting back and forth between Mats and the tracks now. He’s sweating too, beads of perspiration roll from his hairline down the sides of his face.

_Don’t do it…_

The train stops. Mats wants to let out a sigh of relief but he doesn’t. Time is up.

The doors swish open and people from all across the platform rush to enter. There’s two people who don’t: Mats and his new friend.

“I need to get home now. Remember what I said. Call that number,” Mats instructs before making his way into the last car, feeling like something’s been lifted off his chest. But there’s also a sense that something’s missing, that he’s made a mistake.

And he has. He realizes what a fucking idiot he is only when it might be too late and the train’s gone about two stops.

His heart is hammering against his chest as he rips his phone back out and tries to find a signal, but the subway is underground and it’s hard to get it to work.

“Do your job, you piece of shit!” Mats yells at his phone, earning a few startled looks but he really doesn’t care right now.

Once he finally does get a signal and dials the emergency number, every second feels far too long and Mats knows he should’ve done this way sooner. Hell, he could’ve even called the number on the red sign because the man back on the platform certainly wasn’t planning on it. Why would he when he was already planning on taking himself out? That wouldn’t be logical. Why would someone with a clear roadmap turn around and backtrack, possibly getting themselves lost?

Mats babbles into his phone, sounding like he’s lost his mind. And he must have actually lost his mind if making a call wasn’t the first thing that rose to his instinct when someone was about to do something like that. Even if there was just a _chance_ it would actually happen, he should’ve made a call, any kind of call. What had he been thinking? What kind of heartless fool  _was_ he?

They tell him that they already have a rescue squad on the way. Mats doesn’t know if that meant the man had gone through or if there was someone a lot smarter than him who’d called before it was too late. He hopes it was the second. It has to be. It just has to.

At the next stop, Mats gets off and tries waiting for the train going in the other direction to return to where he started.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” booms the voice over the intercom. “We regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, all southbound trains have been temporarily delayed. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope to be operating normally as soon as possible.”

Mats’ stomach lurches. He staggeres over to one of the benches and sits there for an unknown period of time, his pounding head held in his hands and every inch of his body pulsing with regret. If only he could go back in time five minutes...five minutes was all he needed. He pulls at his hair so hard that it gives him a headache. He wishes that the subway system was luxurious enough to have restrooms because he feels a strong urge to vomit.

\-----

There is an article in the local section of the newspaper the next day.

**Subway officials set to tighten platform security after third suicide of year**

_The death of Benedikt Höwedes, 27, was preventable._


End file.
